Lacing structure.



f\. RUEKIN.

'fafmicmms nur@ mw. uw.

Ptened Nov. 1A, w16

/fffl M fwd 277, www? 'nn o CHESTER A. nATEKN, or KANSAS orrY, MISSOURI; p

mismo'sfrmiorimn.'v v j f Leo-moo;

To NZZ 'whomv f1' t 'may concern Be it known that l, Cnns'rnn A.. RATEKIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City. ih the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useiul ln'iprovements in Lacing Structures, of which the 'following isa clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to lacing structures,

and particularly to a lacing construction which is especially adapted for use in con# nection with foot-weer. and the principal' object of the invention is to devise a klacing combination which will not only have all f the advantages of a quickly and easily operated lacing, but also, what is of lstill greater importance and advantage as regards the olnect hereby sought tolie at tained, afford la high degree of neatness in theappez'irance of the shoe closure and of comfort to the wearer. For this purpose a .structure has been produced whereby' the tension of the lacing is distributed substantially equally along the edges ofthe laced material with the result that `the upper of the shoe is drawn uniformly into place without undue stress or pull on any portion thereof, and the possibility ,of the formation of pi'-,rmancnt' unsightly wrinkles is pre rented. it is also sought to contrive a lac ing construction of eXtreme simplicity, such that its 'introduction vinto the manufacture ci the usual type oi. lace-shoe may be made with but little alteration or expense.

lilith the above general object in View, the invention comprises cert-aiu noveleatures oi construction and combinations of parts, the essential elements of which are set forth in the appended claims, and various forms of embodiment ofy which are hereinafter specifically described with reference to the drawing accompanying and forming a part 'of this speciiication.

In the drawing, Figure l is a perspective view illustrating a shoe embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a. fragmentary plan View on a larger scale) showing one form of the lacing structure, the dotted linesrepresenting the concealed or blind lacing loops or members; Fig. 3 is a plan View` of alternative forms of lacingl loops or members adapted for use in the construction indicated in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a. section on the line lf-4t of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a. similar section but showing a modified form of piping; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan View of an- Specpcation of Letters Patent;

full, l

other form of the lacinglconstruc bodying a different ty e of ybliny loops or members; Fig. line 7-7 'of Fig. 6; Fig. S is airagm'entary back plan -view of a. still further modi'iied y.Potented Nov. 14, i Application med November 9; 1914. seriaiNo. 871,101. y10H',` en); @lacing is a. ,sectionl on the" n'rns PATENT orme.

construction; and Fig. 9 isa section onthe line IX--IX of Fig. 8.

4Referring to the the imjention, the `1 essential; `,elements of Winch, however, l remain the. s

of the shoe 4 Aare. providedr Witlilpipingsfat opposite sides of' the'` usual=closurey-ishty, each' of these pipings beingiormed ab means of front and backstey'pieces 8i sel` :if

cured to the corrvespon'ding.I iippeipbltion byv a row of" stitching l0 :andfto-eaclr other by a row ofstitching 12. The-edgeso th staysr at the stitching lprojectfp'as l edgesof the upper and form th'einargin of` .tending longitudinally fof the slit ,6, These lacing members l'may be in' the*v -feriti-"oi separate loops, or each series` imayjbe stamped from a singlefblank to.` fornia chain of ,such loops, as shown in.Eig.3,1.to

jt'acilitate their 'manufacture and, seenr`e proper' and accurate spacing of. the linembers. The outer stay piece 8-isprc'videds` passages 18 toy receive the lacing sljlrin :22. Inthe lmodified iorm illustrated ini ig.

5, only one stay piece 8 is employed rincon-1., nection with each upper edge toorInthe "f' pipln'g, stitching 24 beingusedrftosecure' said upper edge to oneedge otheisteypiecc along the margin of the slit 6. lThe'lacing y n l slightly ydierent forms ofembodiinenyojf y. mi-11n eeh',- modiiication. In. Figs.,2 isil-lustrated a form in which the upper-portions members or loops 16v are ithen. secured' byy formed,- end lacing openin s 20 are 'provided in theL upper' 2 adjacent t e stitching 24mly thesame manner as in the outer stay 870i the structure Afirst ,.described; if 5 vIn the modiication 'illnstratediin 6;

and '(.zuse is mode ci?y metallic .lacingor oop per portions in 'the seine nienner asftleftnre.K4

with a series oflacing. openings 20 at points" oppositel the openings yinto the several loop vmeansof stitching 26 Within-fV the pipigthus described. Each metal member 28 comprises a flat body )o1-tion provided with spaced clenching eyelets 30 for securing the member to the up er, and a hook portion 32 project- 5 ing ast tlie edge of the up r and extending in t e same direction as tix);Il eyelet portions `so as to be located directly opposite the edge A of the upper and form a lacing passage` 18 parallel therewith. The securing eyelets 30 l0 Ire spaced a art a distance at least equal to thelength of) the hook ortions 32, in order ,that the pull ofthe lacing cord 22, which is y passed through the passages 18 and openings 20 in the. outer stay 8, will not be confined to '15 an too restricted area but will be disv tri uted as evenly as possible the full length of the closure., slit. Obviously the lacing members 28 may be secured on either the inner or the outer face of the upper edge, and 29- the clenching eyelets are spaced so as' to occur at about the same intervals as the usual lacinge -ellgtof "ar`i"`-ordinary shoe. The edges o the hook-portions 3.2\are` slightly rounded o, as shown, so as not to damage* the lacing 60rd 22.

`In F ige 8 and 9 is grown a structure in which t e edge of the upper forming each side of the e osure slit is folded back and ditched als shown at 34, so that the folded VI0 edgeof the upper presents a continuous lbolllder against which abuts the series of `llcng members 16, the latter constructed (nd Secured Substantially as illustrated in Fig. 5 excepting that the back stay piece 8 .$6 may or may not be employed, since the ordinary upper lining (not shown) will meet the requirements in this respect. Lacing openings 20 are provided in the upper at the proper intervals as in the previous construction. The advantage of this modification lies in the fact that the-folded edge of the upper tends to reinforeth loo )s along the ges 18 and resist any ten ency of the oops to draw out of shape; and this strueture also has the advantage ,of being exltremely compact by reason of the parts beg reduced to a minimum number of layersl or thicknesses.

In all of the foregoing forms it will be apparent that the essential elements of the lacing structure remain in substantially the f same combination, the object being to pro- Vvide a closure in which the parts willeomrise neat straight edges, and concealed or lind rigidly-secured lacing members or loops having lacing passages extending parallel with the closure slit, so that the pull on the lacing cord will draw the slit edges neatly together, or at any rate in smooth- 60 lying and uniformly parallel lines, without any wrinkling or buckling of the adjacent upper portions. It is furthermore obvious that the principal advantages of such an arrangement, outside the fact' that the lacing e5 operation is quick and easy, are in the neatness of the appearance of the closure when laced, andits great comfort to the foot. For each loop or lacing member, when the shoe is made up withany one of the above forms, occupies the s a'ce of two 0f the ordinary shoe eyelets, w ereby the number of crosses of the lacing cord is reduced, and as a consequence, the surplus in the tying ends of' the lacing cord is eliminated; and, with only four' crosses of the lacing cord for the average height of upper and with the lacing passages 18 arranged parallel with the slit, friction is also greatly reduced, so that the lacing is operated with extreme ease rand with very little wear on the cord. The humping of the leather between adjacent loops or lacing members is prevented by securing theloops or lacing members to the upper for a distance equal to or greater than the length of each of the lacing passages 18, and by this means the formation of permanent wrinkles is avoidedwlch in turn prevents openings along the edges of theI closure throughayhichjusg etc., would otherwise be' admitted. "The manner of securing the loops or lacing membersalso gives a secure fastening with very little strain on the upper leather, and provides a means whereby it is possible to exert a lacing pull insubstantially the same plane as the edge of the upper at the slit for the purpose. as above indicated, of equalizing the pull along said edge throughout the entire length of the slit, and to the end also of obtaining a more comfortably fitting closure. This comfort is increased, moreover, by the fact that the edge of the upper along thel slit is kept as thin as possible, and also by the important fact that the lacing cord is not allowed to pass through and under the upper into binding lContact with either the foot or the tongue of the slice, since inv the present construction the lacing cord never passes beneath the laeing passages 18. Again, by having the pull exerted as nearly Yas possible in the same plane as that of the edge of the upper at the slit, this eliminates any binding action of the lacing cord in a direction to cause said edge of the upper to bite into the tongue of the shoe, which always tends-'to bunch up the tongue and render it impossible to obtain a smooth-lying closure.

While the foregoing represents what have been found to be suitable and practical forms of embodiment of the invention, the right is reserved to such formal changes and modifications as may fairly fall within the scope of the claims which follow.

Claims:

1. A lacing structure comprising meinbers each having an edge portion provided with spaced lacing openings, and a lacing44 element secured to each of said members bo- 1 tween the lacing openings thereof, said lacing elements being shaped to form lacing 130 passages having their axes arranged in a line extqnbiing parallel with the edges of said me i rs respectively, and the ends oli said lacixxlig passages registering with the corresponding lacing openings.`

2. A Alacing structure comprising members having portions providing-a closure slit, and a series ot' lacing elements secured to said members beneath the same and con cealed thereby, said elements being shaped to lform lacing/'passages having their axes arranged in 'a line extending longitudinally of said slit, and said members having lacing openings registering with the ends of each of saidv lacing passages.

3. A lacing structure comprising members having portions providing a closure slit, said members each having a series of spaced lacing openings, and a series of lacing elements secured to said members between said openings, said elements being shaped to form lacing passages having their axes arranged in a line extending longitudinally ot' said slit and the ends of each of said lacing passages registering withsaid lacing openings.

Llc. A lacing structure comprising members having edges forming a .closure slit, said 'members having marginal strip portions reinforcing the edges of said slit and forming shogilders extending longitudinally of the slit@ and a series of lacing elements secured to said members and provided with lacing passages, said lacing elements abutting against said shoulders and thereby reinforcing said lacing passages, said members be- 'ing provided with lacing openings registering with the ends of said lacing passages.

A lacing structure comprising 'mem-` bers having portions providing a` closure slit, said members being doubled back along said slit and secured to reinforce the margins of the slit and formlongitudinal shoulders adjacent said slit, and a series of elements secured to said members and provided with lacing passages, said elements abutting against said shoulders and thereby 

